


Winter Dream

by everystareverywhere



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Secret Santa, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-02
Updated: 2014-12-13
Packaged: 2018-02-27 20:10:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2705006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/everystareverywhere/pseuds/everystareverywhere
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rose Tyler gets into a car accident and wakes up with a completely different life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the for DWSecretSanta on tumblr. It's for youburntlikethesun! I hope you enjoy it!

Rose walked into the TARDIS Café, barely looking up from her mobile. Her boss, Reinette Possion, was being absolutely impossible lately, wanting more out of Rose than was physically possible. Never, not in a million years, did Rose think that being the assistant to a fashion designer be so bloody stressful. All she seemed to be doing was running around for Madam Poison, especially getting her coffee. One day, just one day, Rose wanted to pour that woman’s coffee over her head and walk out with her head held high. Not that Rose would ever do that. Because she’s too nice. Also if she stays on friendly terms with Reinette than maybe— _maybe_ —she’ll put in a good word for Rose when she goes up for a promotion. Because that’s what Rose wants more than anything in this world: to become a fashion designer. She wanted to create the next fashion, make a trend that no one had thought of yet and make it huge. Deep down Rose knew that that was what everyone wanted when they entered the fashion world, but Rose knew that she sucked up to the right people and kissed the right asses, she would definitely make it.

But right now, Madam Poison wanted her coffee, and God forbid Rose was two minutes late bringing _that_.

Luckily there was no line—how did _that_ happen?—so she went right up to the register.

“Er, yeah, hi, I would like two Grande Iced Salted Caramel Mocha.” So she ordered the same thing as her boss. Whatever. It wasn’t too bad, actually.

“Sure,” said the barista, getting two cups. “Rose, right?”

She looked up, almost stunned that he knew her name. “Er, yeah.”

He gave her a smile and if she wasn’t in a million places at once, she would have stopped to admire it. “You’re in here every day. Good memory, me.” He wrote her name on both cups before handing them to a red-haired woman.

“Right. Of course.”

He told her the price and she handed him her card. His hair was sticking up in almost a charming way and his smile was killer, but Rose barely acknowledged any of it. She needed to focus on not having Reinette kill her anytime soon.

“You know we have Gingerbread Lattes too, right? For the holiday season. And an Eggnog Latte, which isn’t as bad as you would think. It’s actually quite tasty. Doesn’t have any alcohol in it, but it’s still good. Hits the spot. Also a Chestnut Praline Latte, which I’m not exactly sure what a praline is, but either way, Donna makes the best Chestnut Praline Latte you’ve ever had. And the Peppermint Hot Chocolate is good for a good snuggle. You know,” he rubbed the back of his neck. “If you’re into those kinds of things.”

Rose didn’t know whether to laugh at him or roll her eyes. The last thing she really needed was a rambling barista, but she figured he was just being nice so she would give him a good tip. However, since she didn’t have anything smaller than a twenty pound on her person, his efforts were for nothing.

Luckily at that moment the red-haired woman handed her the drinks. “Thanks,” she said, putting her phone in her pocket and grabbing the two cups. She turned to the man behind the cash register and said, “I’ll keep those drinks in mind. You know, for the future.”

With that, she turned around and walked right out the door.

 

~*~

 

“Mum,” Rose whispered, not wanting anyone to hear her. Perhaps the bathroom was the worst place to go to have a private conversation, but Madam Poison hated it when Rose took personal calls at her desk. Apparently it made her look human, or some evil thing like that. “Mum, I need you to stop—”

But Jackie Tyler was not giving up her fight. “—Absolutely ridiculous Rose! Christmas is two days away! Can’t she let you go for two days!?”

Rose sighed. Every year she had this argument with her mother and every year Rose walked away feeling guilty for something she couldn’t control. Her boss was a horrible control freak who stepped on everyone who was on lower ground. Rose tried to explain to her mother—countless times, in fact—that if she put all the hard work in now, she’ll become her own boss and be able to take off whenever she wants. But right now she had to be treated like dirt so that she would grow into a beautiful flower. Or something like that. Martha was better at those self-help lines than Rose was.

“Mum, I just need to help Mad—Reinette on a couple of things. At most! I should be able to get there for Christmas.”

“But you said that last year and you weren’t able to take off until three days later and it was only for three hours! Rose, I think you should make a complaint.”

Yeah, cause complaining about the boss is a totally new thing; no one has ever done _that_ before. “Mum—”

“Come home for Christmas or I swear I will come over there and drag you home, kicking and screaming.”

“Mum—” was all Rose could get out before she heard the noise of her mother hanging up. Lovely. Now her mother was made at her for something that wasn’t even really Rose’s fault.

Maybe a part of it was that Madam Poison was a bitch and really didn’t care about such things as Christmas or vacation or relaxing. But Rose didn’t want to admit that a part of her didn’t want to go home because that would mean having to face that question of  “So, are you going out with anyone?” Because the answer was always no. No, she was not seeing anyone. No, she didn’t have a friend whom she considered going out with. No, she wasn’t interested in anyone. Because Rose didn’t want to get married. Well, okay, she _did_ , but not _now_. Not in the near future. She wanted to work on herself right now, figure out her career before she settled down and had children and the house and the whole package. Right now Rose wanted to get established in the fashion world, and apparently that was too much for her mother to understand.

Not that Jackie thought Rose needed a man to be happy. Oh, nothing could be further from the truth. Jackie herself was a widow for many years before she married a man named Pete Tyler—who, coincidently, had the same last name as her father, Allen Tyler. Jackie worked extremely hard to raise Rose single-handedly, and Rose was always so proud of her mother for that. But Jackie always wanted to make sure that Rose had a secure future and pushed her to study harder, go further. But ever since Jackie got remarried…it’s like she’s changed somehow. She still pushes Rose to do her best, but she also doesn’t seem to understand why Rose doesn’t want to settle down. How could there not be _someone_ Rose has her eye on?

Sighing, Rose got up off the toilet seat and rocked her head back and forth making her joints pop. She would have loved a couple of days off. If nothing else, than just to _sleep_. She couldn’t remember the last time she slept more than four hours a night. It must be nice, getting a full seven to eight hours.

When she walked out of the bathroom, Martha Jones came running right over to her.   
“Rose, where were you? Her Highness is looking everywhere for you!”

“I went to the bathroom. Is she going to stop me from doing _that_ too?”

Martha scoffed. “Probably. Control freak to the extreme.”

“Rosie!”

Rose closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “One day, Martha, one day, I am going to legally change my name and not tell her. That way when she calls my name, I don’t have to answer her.”

Stepping towards the office door, Rose grabbed her pad and pen before saying as sweetly as she could, “Yes, Ms Possion?”

Reinette turned around, her eyes sparkling. Reinette was beautiful, if you were into the whole French-Royalty-with-the-perfect-blonde-hair-and-blue-eyes-and-stupid-cupid-bow-lips. But when her blue eyes sparkled, Rose knew that she wasn’t going to be getting sleep in the near future.

“We have just been invited to a gala, Rosie!” Reinette joyously yelled, picking up paper off of her desk. “Do you know what this means?” Without waiting for an answer, she said, “It means contacts! It means business! It means get a new dress because we are going! Tonight!”

“Tonight? I—Wait—I mean, what—what time?”

“Oh eight o’clock! And make sure you wear something beautiful, not like that navy blue dress you wore to last party.” Again, before Rose could defend her absolutely gorgeous blue dress,  Reinette began talking about what needed to be done before they—and by ‘they’ she meant ‘Rose’—left for the gala.

After giving Rose a list of things to do, she said, “Oh, dear, look at the time! I simply must dash so I can be there on time! Make sure you do everything on that list, Rosie, and come to the gala. I’ll message you the address!” With that, Reinette walked out in a cloud of perfume.

“My name is _Rose_!” she shouted at the thin air. She absolutely _hated_ being called ‘Rosie.’ That was a child’s name, something an uncle calls his favorite niece. Not a name an up-and-coming fashion designer would be called.

Martha leaned against the doorframe before quietly singing, “ _Cinderella, Cinderella, night and day it’s ‘Cinderella!’_ ” like one of the mice in the Disney movie.

Rose sighed. “Oh, don’t I know it. Only Cinderella had time to sleep. And mice to help her make a beautiful dress.”

“Which the step-sisters than torn apart.”

Rose sat down in one of the visitor’s chairs Reinette had in her office. Giving a great sigh, Rose commented, “I suddenly know what dog shit feels like.”

“Well, at least you smell better than dog shit.”

Rose chuckled. “Thanks.” Looking down at the list, Rose took another sigh, as though gaining her strength. “I might as well get this over with.”

“I can help.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. What are friends for?”

 

~*~

 

Rose ran into the gala, shoes in hand. She was horribly late. Even with Martha’s help, the work Reinette left her was much too much for Rose to get here on time. And when she finally did arrive, her black cocktail dress—the only new dress she owned that looked simple, yet elegant—was wrinkled and her blonde hair was coming out of his French twist. But none of that matter because tonight she was going to be making contacts so she could finally— _finally_ —get out from under Reinette and make clothes the way _she_ wanted to.

Before she reached the ballroom, Rose slipped on her shoes, and ran into the bathroom to clean herself up. Groaning when she saw herself, she quickly opened her purse and took out some of the make-up she had.

She was just touching up her eyeliner when the stall behind her opened up and a woman came out, discreetly blowing her nose. She was a tiny bit shorter than Rose, with soft chestnut hair and big brown eyes. “Argh, I hate these things.”

Rose looked over at her. “You must, mate. I hate them too, but I don’t cry in the bathroom.”

The woman chuckled. “No, it’s not because I’m here. Well, it _is_ kind of why I’m crying, but not really. No, my boss is a pain in the ass.”

Rose smiled. “Say no more. I’m in the same boat.”

“I hate bosses. I think that when I become a boss, if I’m ever mean to my employees, I’ll kick myself down a flight of stairs. Do you know my boss purposely gave me information that was incorrect so she could look better than me?”

“No!” Rose said in disbelief.

“Oh yes. My boss really is the devil in Prada. God, I hate her!” She took a deep breath before holding out her hand. “Sorry, never introduce myself. I’m Clara Oswald.”

“Rose Tyler,” she answered, shaking her hand. “My boss gave me a list of things to do before I came here. I felt like Cinderella before she was allowed to go to the ball.”

“Well, you’re here now and that’s what important. Come. Shall we get through this night of fake smile and even faker attitudes together?”

Rose smiled as she put her make-up back in her bag. “Yes, let’s. God knows, I could use a friend right about now.”

“I could use a drink too.”

“That sounds brilliant!”

Clara chuckled. “Come along then Rose. Let’s get our contacts out there so we can get away from our horrible bosses.”

 

~*~

 

The night didn’t go exactly how Rose had planned it, but it did go better than she expected. Clara was a good ally—asking the right questions and someone whom Rose was able to bitch with all night. Plus, Rose and Clara both got a lot of contacts. So many of them were interested in both girls; they joked about how they should go into the fashion business together.

They both left at the same time, waving to each other and having the other one’s mobile number programmed into their phone. All in all, Rose could not complain about how the night went. Though she had to smirk a little when she noticed the look on Reinette’s face when Rose and Clara walked in. Rose wasn’t the best at reading people, but she was positive that Reinette seemed almost stunned to see her there. Was it perhaps because Reinette didn’t want Rose there at all, and much like Cinderella and her wicked stepsisters, Reinette wanted Rose to do so much work that she couldn’t possibly have time to come to the gala? Rose was almost positive that was the case and smirked even broader every time someone asked for Rose’s card.

Getting into her car, Rose grinned as she thought about Reinette’s face. Oh, it felt so _good_ to get the upper hand. Completely worth the whole afternoon’s worth of work. Now the only thing Rose could think of was going home and soaking her feet while watching _The Sound of Music_ , her favorite musical. Or maybe she could watch some mindless television. Like a made for T.V. Christmas movie.

As Rose drove off into the night, her mobile dinged, signaling a message.

 

**We were a hit! Can’t wait to work with you again in the future! – Clara**

 

Rose stopped at a stop sign and messaged back **_Definitely_**. She liked Clara and could totally see the two of them working together in the future. When she looked up, she saw that nobody was coming, so she continued on.

She was close to her apartment when suddenly two cats came running out of the street, crossing right in front of Rose’s car. She swerved, just missing them, but ended up hitting a pole instead. Knocking her head on the steering wheel, Rose became unconscious within seconds.

 

~*~

 

Rose could hear whispering. Two, maybe three people were in a room with her, and they were definitely whispering. One voice she would recognize anywhere, whispering or not.

“No, you were right to call. Rose would have wanted us to know.”

Her mother. No doubt about that.

“I don’t know about that. You know how Rose doesn’t like us to worry about such things.”

That was Pete. At least, Rose was ninety-nine percent sure.

“True, but I’m her mother. I’m allowed to worry about her.”

“And so am I.”

Okay, _that_ voice Rose did not recognize. Maybe she crashed at her parents’ house and they had a male guest? But what are they talking about? What would Rose not want to worry her parents about?

Rose groaned, her head starting to hurt. She must have really hit it on that steering wheel.

“Rose?” her mother asked, her voice getting louder. “Rose, sweetie, are you awake?”

Rose groaned again, louder. Her head was pounding. It was like someone hit her over the head with a baseball bat a couple hundred times. “My head—”

Someone took her hand. It wasn’t her mother’s hand, though, since this hand didn’t have long nails or rings. It was definitely a man’s hand, smooth and cool, but holding on with a tight grip. “Rose, honey, come back to us.”

She had no idea who was talking to her, but she opened her eyes anyway. Her mother’s face was right above her, looking concerned. She had bangs now. That was weird. Jackie hated having bangs.

“Rose, sweetheart, how are you feeling? Should we call the doctor?”

Groaning again, Rose started to close her eyes. “What happened?”

“You got into a little bit of a car accident. Nothing too bad. Dented your car a bit,” Pete said. “You hit yourself on the head.”

“Yeah, I can feel that.”

The hand holding hers tighten and Rose slowly opened her eyes. She looked towards her right and saw a very attractive man smiling back at her. “Hello Rose.”

He was smiling at her, so happy that she was awake. That was all fine and dandy, but she had no idea who this man was. “Er, hello.”

“How are you feeling?” He leaned forward a bit, and Rose wanted very much to remind him about personal space. Whoever this guest of her parents’ was, he needed to back off.

“I—I’m okay. It’s hurt, but…I’m sorry, who are you?”

The smile on the kind man’s face faded. Suddenly he looked confused as well as concerned. “Rose, it’s John.”

John. John. John. She shook her head. “I don’t know any John.”

“Rose,” her mother said, looking just as concerned as the man. Why? “John Noble. Surely you know John.”

Rose looked back at him. He looked kind of familiar, but she had no idea from where. Like she met him in a dream or something. “No, I don’t. Should I? Is he a friend of family or something?”

“Rose, it’s me,” the man—John—said, looking at Rose with the saddest look in his eyes. “It’s John. Your husband.”


	2. Chapter 2

Rose was certain she misheard. She couldn’t have just heard the word ‘husband’ because that—that didn’t—Rose was even _dating_ anyone, how in the _hell_ did she end up married? In one night!

Sitting up quickly, Rose stuttered, “No, I can’t be. I can’t. We can’t—I mean, _married..._ No! I don’t—I don’t even—I don’t even know you!”

John’s face fell as Jackie stepped closer and took her daughter’s hand. “Rose, what are you going on about? Of course you know John.”

Rose couldn’t take her eyes off of the man, and it wasn’t because he was handsome. No, it was because she felt guilty for not knowing him and hating the look of devastation on his face. 

“Mum, I don’t…What…?”

“John maybe you should step outside.”

“Jackie—”

He started to protest, but Jackie went into protective mother mode, and no one stood a chance against that.  “John, I’ll talk to her. Just…please.”

He ran a hand through his hair, and though clearly unhappy, sighed and left the room. Jackie turned to Pete. “Go with him. Calm him down.”

“I don’t know what good that’ll do, but I’ll try.”

Once Pete left, Jackie sat down on the edge of the bed. “Okay, Rose, I need you to calm down.”

Rose didn’t even realize how hard she had been breathing, or that tears were in her eyes. “Mum, I don’t understand what happened. Married? Me? I can’t—”

“Rose, breathe. You’re no good to anyone if you don’t _calm down_. Breathe. In. Out. Good. Keep doing it.”

Taking deep breaths did help, but all Rose could see was the sadness in John’s brown eyes. She wished she understood what was happening.

“Mum,” she finally said. “What’s going on?”

“Rose, what year is it?”

Rose raised an eyebrow. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Answer the question. What year is it?”

“2014.”

Jackie took a deep breath before reaching for Rose’s hand. “No, Sweetheart, it’s not. It’s 2020.”

Rose’s eyes almost popped right out of her head. “ _What?!_ No!”

Jackie nodded slowly. “Yes. It’s December 23, 2020.”

Rose looked around, certain she misheard. There she saw a slick black object sitting on the nightstand and Rose instantly reached out for it. Looking at it quickly, it had to be a new iPhone. And seeing how quickly a new one comes out, this must be iPhone 40. She pressed on what she hoped to be the home screen and a picture of the man—John—came on, smiling goofly at the camera. However, Rose wasn’t focusing on his picture, but rather the date. And there, right underneath the time that read 10:59, read **December 23, 2020**.

Dropping the phone next to her, Rose put her head back. “I don’t…2020…That can’t be…”

“Rose, what’s the last thing you remember?”

“The night of the gala. With Reinette. I met a woman named Clara Oswald and we were going around the room making contacts. And earlier that day, you and I got into an argument because she, Reinette, wanted me to work on Christmas and you were angry with me.”

“Rose, all of that did happen, but it happened six _years_ ago.” Jackie sighed before saying, “I should call a doctor. Oh, I should ask Martha to come.” She got up and walked towards the door.

“Martha? Martha Jones? She’s an assistant to a fashion designer, what good will she do now?”

“Martha hasn’t been a designer in years, Sweetheart. She’s studying to become a doctor. Oh, where is my mobile?” Jackie walked out of the room, in search of her phone.

Rose’s mind was spinning and absolutely nothing was making the slightest bit of sense. She was married? Martha was a doctor? It was 2020? What in bloody hell was going on!?

Picking up the phone, Rose looked at the design before pushing the home button again. Once again John’s face appeared, but this time there was a little girl in the picture as well. Hmm. Maybe these phones can now change their homescreen pictures or something.

Rose was admiring John, not really paying too much attention to the small child in his arms. She admired his smile, the brightness in his eyes. He really was a handsome man. Too bad she didn’t have a clue on who he was—other than her husband, which was something she was _not_ going to go into.

Her eyes moving down, Rose looked at the small child. There was something familiar about her, something Rose couldn’t quite put a finger on. But before she could look at it further, the screen went blank. Pressing the button again, a different photo came on, this one of Rose, John, and Pete. This was a selfie, John probably holding the camera up since he was the closest to the camera. John had the dorkiest smile Rose had ever seen. Rose herself was standing in-between the two men, arms around each of them. She looked…happy.

When the screen went blank again, Rose pressed the home button, only this time a picture of the little girl appeared. She was sitting on hardwood floor, and toy held limply in her hands as she smiled up at the camera. She couldn’t have been older than two. Rose wondered who she was.

Her mind was trying to come up with thoughts on who she was—Maybe Mum had another child? Maybe she’s the daughter of a friend? Maybe she’s John’s little girl? She was steering clear of the child being _her_ little girl because…No. It couldn’t be.

Dropping the phone next to her, she groaned as she rubbed her hands over her face. She had to be dreaming. That’s it. This was just an elaborate dream. None of this is real. She just had a _dream_ that she got married. That’s all. She’ll wake up at home in 2014 and everything is be back to how it was.

She heard someone giving a polite cough by the door and she looked over to find John, standing awkwardly in the doorframe. “Can I, um, come in?”

“Yeah. Sure.” Rose didn’t want to point out that if they were truly married in this fictitious world, he wouldn’t need permission to walk into his own bedroom.

He took a couple of steps in, but still stood about three feet away from the bed. “So, er,” he rubbed the back of his neck. “How are you feeling?”

“Physically, I’m fine.”

He nodded. “I was talking to Jackie. You think it’s 2014?”

She nodded. “I’m convinced I’m dreaming and all I need is to wake up.”

He took a step towards her. “You do know that the minute you realize you’re dreaming, you typically wake up.”

She shrugged. “I guess I’ll be staying here a few minutes more. So don’t bother telling me that I’m married to you or whatever, because it’s not true. I’m just dreaming.”

Giving a chuckle, he walked over to a chair that was close to the bed and sat down. “You are so stubborn.” He said it in such a way, as though he has known this fact for a very long time and as come to terms with it. 

“Yes, I am. Besides, you might as well as save your breath, seeing how I’m not going to be here long. I’ll wake up and you will just be a figment of my imagination.”

John chuckled. “What if this is real, though? What if we are actually married?”

“I can’t be married to you, I don’t know you.”

“But you do!” he yelled, his patience wearing thin. He immediately took a deep breath. “Sorry. I just—I shouldn’t yell at you. I’m sorry.”

She looked down, but nodded her head. “Look, could you just…I need a minute alone to…process my thoughts, as it were.”

“Right. Of course. I’ll just…” He stood up. “I’ll be in the living room. Shout if you need anything. Anything at all.” He gave her one last look before walking out of the bedroom.

As soon as the door was closed, Rose threw the covers off and sat up, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. She needed to get out of here. She needed her own place, her little crappy job. She wanted to go back to the life she was living, not…this. Whatever _this_ was, it was not for Rose. She’s not the marrying kind. Rose wanted to focus on her work, advance in the future of fashion. Not be someone’s _wife_.

She looked down at her clothes. Jeans, warm socks, a jumper. Pretty decent. Grabbing the pair of sneakers close to her, she slipped them on before going towards the window. Pushing aside the curtains, Rose groaned when she realized she was on the second floor. Damn it. That meant she had to get past her mother and…John.

Tiptoeing towards the door, Rose slowly opened it and took a look around. No one was around. In fact, she was looking at a hallway. And the stairs were right there. She could hear voices speaking lowly, but she didn’t know where they were coming from. Going as quietly yet as quickly as she could, Rose walked down the stairs. The voices were coming from the back of the house, presumably where the living room was. Thankfully there was a long brown coat hung up on a coat rack—much too large for Rose, so it was either her father’s or John’s—and a pair of car keys. Snatching them, Rose opened the door, hoping it wouldn’t squeak. It didn’t. She closed the door just as quietly and pressed the alarm button for the car. The headlights of the car in front of the house lit up. Rose ran towards it, opened the driver’s side door, put the key in the ignition and took off, not caring if she returned or not.

 

~*~

 

Rose had no idea where she was. She was not in central London anymore, that was quite clear. She seemed to be in the middle of freaking nowhere. Trees. That’s all Rose could see for miles. Trees, trees, and more trees. Not only was she a housewife, but she also lived in the middle of the woods.

Making another turn, Rose was hopelessly lost, not able to find the house if she wanted to. She didn’t have anything on her, not a cell phone, not a wallet, nothing. All she wanted was to wake up from this nightmare and be in her own bed, with no husband, no suburban house, nothing. Just her life with her wicked boss and a possible future that she was interested in.

Seeing a gas station, Rose pulled in and parked by the front doors. She turned off the engine, but didn’t get out. Leaning back in the seat, she took a deep breath. She’s going to wake up now. Now. _Right now._ Now! _Riiiiiiight now!_

Nothing. She wasn’t waking up. She was still in the middle of god knows where with no memory of how she got there.

Trying to warm her hands, she put them in the pockets. Rose felt many things in there, but the first thing she pulled out a piece of a paper and was surprised when she realized the handwriting on it was hers.

**_John, don’t forget!_ **

**_Milk_ **

**_Bread_ **

**_Bacon_ **

**_Bananas (stop eating so many!)_ **

**_Pears (shut up)_ **

**_Batteries ;)_ **

**_< 3Rose_ **

Tracing the words lightly with her thumb, Rose tried to remember ever writing this list. Obviously there were some inside jokes, what with the bananas and pears. And a deep blush hit Rose when she saw the winky face next to the batteries. But it was the little heart next to her name that made her pause. This man was really something to her, wasn’t he?

She checked the pockets for any more clues on what her life was life now. She found a screwdriver, a small flashlight, a binky, and a mobile. This one had to be her hus—John’s. She pressed the home button  on the phone and her face lit up on the screen. She was making a kissing face at the camera, not the best picture of her to be honest. But it was definitely her, being goofy and…should she say it? In love. Rose Tyler, the Rose from this world, was in love with this man, John. And he loved her.

Suddenly the phone in her hand vibrated and another picture of her popped up (this one slightly better, just smiling into the camera—though why was she wearing glasses?) along with the song _Life With You_.

Sliding her finger across the button of the screen, she picked up. “Hello?”

“Rose? Oh thank God! She has my mobile!” John shouted to whoever was with him. He came back. “Where are you? Are you okay? Just tell me where you are, and I’ll come and get you.”

“Er, I’m not sure.”

“What? Rose, where are you? Tell me what you see.”

“A gas station. I’m at a gas station. And a lot of trees.”

“You must be off of Rassolin Avenue. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

“But, John--!” Before she could say another word, she heard the dial tone.

She held the phone in her hand and swiped it to access it. A four digit lock. Well, that hasn’t changed. She had no idea what to put, though. It could be anything. The screen went blank and Rose sighed, leaning her hand against her head. Suddenly she thought of something and tried it. So she typed in **0427** , her birthday, and sure enough the mobile unlocked. Rose stared at the screen. Some of the apps she recognized, some she didn’t. But she found what she was looking for: pictures. Pressing the button, it took her to a long list of albums. Oh boy. How many photos did this man take? There was everything on here; birthday parties, celebrations, graduations, traveling, relaxing, being silly. The very first one, though, all the way at the bottom caught her attention. **WInter ’14**. Rose clicked on that.

Snow. That was the first few photos were of. Just snow. Snow in the trees, snow on cars, snow. Then there was a person in the picture, someone blocking their face. But she recognized that purple hat, because she wore that same hat a couple of days ago. Or was it a couple of years ago now? Thinking like that hurt her head, so she shook her head and concentrated. Some selfies of him in the snow, one of a man she didn’t recognize lying down in the snow.

Going back to the albums, Rose looked quickly through them. A lot of photos had her in it. Sometimes she was smiling, other times she looked crossed or upset. A few times she was laughing, that huge smile that made her look almost insane without being able to hear the laughter to go along with it. In later pictures, a baby became present. Wrapped up all in pink and purples, but there was a baby in his arms, a baby in her arms, both of them supporting the baby. And the baby grew into a small toddler, with slightly curly brown hair and whiskey colored eyes.

She shut off the phone when she heard a car pull up next to her. Her mother was driving and before the car came to a full stop, John jumped out and ran towards her. “Rose? Rose! Are you okay?”

Unbuckling, Rose got out of the car and John sweep her up into a hug. He smelt like cold and aftershave and it felt somewhat comforting, which confused her. “Why did you leave?” he asked, not bothering to pull back. “Why did you go? We were all so scared!”

She didn’t know what to do, so she put her arms around his neck. It felt awkward—at least, from her side it did—but John seemed comfortable in the fact that she was at least in his arms. He pulled back and gently cradled her face. “Are you okay?”

She nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Rose,” he said sternly.

Looking up at him, Rose was so confused by what she saw. He wanted to know, deeply cared about how she was feeling. And this confused her so much, because she didn’t know him. He shouldn’t give a rat’s arse what she feeling. But he did. Because to him they were married, and had been for a while now. But for her…she had no idea who this man was. She didn’t know where she was or who exactly she was.

Before she could think clearly, her eyes welled up with tears. “I’m so confused,” she sniffed. “I don’t know what’s going on and I just…I just want to go _home_.”

John pulled back, looking more concern than anything else.

“Rose!” her mother said, coming around to her. John let go as Rose was swept up in her mother’s warm embrace. “Oh, Sweetheart, what is going on?”

“I don’t—I don’t know,” she said, clutching her mother. This was familiar to her; her mother perfume and the feel of her arms. Everything else was insane right now, but at least her mother’s embrace was not only familiar but was so very welcomed right now.

“Let’s get you home. A warm cuppa, that’s what you need.”

Rose nodded and let herself be lead to the other car. “John, could you—” Jackie started to say.

He nodded, understanding her unfinished request. “Yeah, I’ll drive this one back.”

Once she was in the car with her mother, Rose couldn’t stop the tears from pouring down her face. “Mum, _what_ is going on?”

“Rose,” her mother said, getting into lecture mode. “I know that you are confused right now, but don’t you _ever_ do that again. John almost had a heart attack when he noticed you left. I’ve never seen that man in such a state. Well, excluding the day you gave birth to Gabby, of course.”

Rose’s world started spinning. “Gabby? I have a daughter?” She figured that, but hearing the words confirmed it. 

Jackie sighed before pulling out of the spot. John hadn’t left yet, waiting for Jackie to pull out first. “Yes, you have a daughter, whom is home with your father. And that man is your husband, though I think you gathered that much for yourself. And he loves you very much, Rose.”

“But Mum I feel…nothing for him. I have no feelings towards that man and he looks at me like…like I’m everything to him. I mean…What do I _do_ in that type of situation?”

“Look, I’m not asking you to fall in love with him tonight. And I know you can’t remember him. But Rose you have to also keep in mind that his wife, the mother to his child, got into a car accident and can no longer remember who he is. Just keep that mind.”

Rose nodded. She’d try.  


	3. Chapter 3

Rose was curled up on the couch, a warm cuppa in her hands. She decided that her mother was correct and Rose should at least _talk_ to John instead of just running away.

“Well, your vital signs are good, which I, of course, love. You have no sign of a concussion and except for the bruise on your forehead, there are no other bumps or bruises on you. Correct?”

Having Martha, whom just yesterday was helping her create the latest fashion, check her over like a proper doctor was just plain _weird_. Rose was still positive this was some kind of parallel world or something.

“Now, except for the lack in your memories, you’re fine, correct?”

“Martha, it’s not like she forgot to take out the garbage!” John insisted, speaking sternly. “She can’t remember six years of her life!”

Martha looked at him from the corner of her eyes, obviously not pleased with his tone. However, Martha was always nice and polite and must have figured that he was under a lot of stress and let that one slide.

“I meant _physically_ , John.” Turning to Rose, she asked, “ _Physically_ , how do you feel?”

“Fine.”

Holding up a finger, Martha said, “Follow my finger.” Rose did. Martha nodded. “Physically you are absolutely fine. But I hear that you have a bit of a memory gap.”

John was sitting on the edge of the chair, his elbows on his knees. “When will she get her memory back?”

“I can speak, you know.” Rose didn’t mean to snap. She knew that John meant well. But the minute they walked into the house, he’s been following her around, convinced that she would either pass out at any moment or run away again.

John rubbed his face. “Yes, you can. Sorry.” He stood up and paced back and forth.

“He means well,” Martha whispered.

“I know,” she whispered back.

Speaking at her normal tone, Martha asked, “What’s the last thing you remember?”

“The gala. Reinette told me that I could go to the gala as long as I finished the list she handed me.”

“Oh, yeah, I remember that. God that was a lifetime ago.”

“I’ll say. What made you switch from fashion in medicine?”

Martha smiled. “You, actually. After you left, I lost interest. I love fashion, of course, but I just…I wanted to _help_ people.”

“Wait a minute, what do you mean left? I quit? I actually quit with Reniette?”

“Oh, yeah. It was huge. You walked in the day after Christmas and said, ‘I’m through.’ And you just walked out. I was so proud. After that, working there lost its appeal, and I just…I know it was quite a career change, going from fashion designer to medicine, but I kind of always wanted to be a doctor. And in just a few months, I’ll have finished my residency and can become a full-fledged doctor!”

Rose was so proud, but at the same time stunned beyond all belief. This just wasn’t the Martha she knew and loved. But…it wasn’t a _bad_ Martha. In fact, Rose noticed how different Martha held herself. It was like she was more comfortable with her life than she was six years ago.

“You look happy,” Rose observed.

“I _am_ happy.” Martha looked up. “And you are too. I know right now everything is topsy-turvy, but trust me, you are _happy_.”

Rose looked over at John, who was watching their exchange like he was going to be quizzed on it later.

Martha continued. “Not just with John. With everything. You are doing very well, Rose Noble.”

Rose’s eyes shot over to Martha. “What did you call me?”

“Rose…Noble. Sorry. That must have been strange to hear.”

It was. It was extremely odd. Yet it made Rose stomach flutter in a way that she never really felt before. Rose Noble. _Rose Noble._ It had a nice ring to it.

Martha stood up and fixed her belongings. “Well, I believe that the only thing you can give Rose now is time. Time to heal. Time to remember.”

“Will she remember?” John asked.

She shrugged. “I honestly do not know. The mind is very tricky. I have read cases about this, but the endings are all different. Some people remember in a few hours, others years go by. Some extreme cases, the person never regains their full memory.” Martha turned to Rose. “You can remember everything that has happened this evening, correct?”

“Yes.”

Martha nodded. “Good. So you are not suffering from any short-time memory loss. And it’s strange that it’s the last six years, as opposed to the last three to five months. Six years is a long time.”

“What do you recommend?” John wondered.

“Talk to her. That shouldn’t be a problem for you, John.” She added with a wink. “Remind her of things. What she likes, what she doesn’t like. Remind her of vacations, celebrations, good, bad, everything and anything. You want to make sure she remembers _something_ , even if you think it’s insignificant.” Taking a deep breath, Martha finished with, “And with that, I will leave you. I’ll call tomorrow to see how you are feeling. If you can’t remember tomorrow morning everything that happened this evening, I want you to go to the hospital _immediately_. Do you understand me?”

“Yes ma’am.” Rose gave a mock salute.

Martha shook her head, but a grin was growing on her face. “Wise-arse.” With that, she got her coat and walked towards the door.

John rubbed the back of his neck and released a sigh. Rose tried not to look in his direction, but she failed. Miserably.

“So, er, what is it I do now? I mean, what’s my job?”

He cleared his throat. “You own your own fashion industry called Bad Wolf Corp.”

Rose almost jumped out of her skin. Her own business?! Holy shit, she actually did it!?

“Bad Wolf—I own a—Holy cow!” Her head fell backwards and Rose didn’t know what to think. “I can’t believe it! What do I design? In particular?”

“Clothes. Obviously. But I meant clothes for movies.”

She snapped her head back up. “What? For movies?” Why in hell would she do that? She wanted to design for the real world, not make-believe.

“Yeah. You, er, you designed clothes for my movie in particular. That’s what made you so famous.”

“You’re a movie star?” Who exactly did she marry?

“No,” he gave a small laugh. “I’m not a movie star, per say. I, uh, I’m a screen writer. Wrote about two movies, in the midst of another one now.”

Rose sat up. “Really? What are they called?”

“The first one is called _The Lone Time Lord_ and the second one is _Year Five Billion_. They are part of a series. The—the _Mad Man in a Box_ series.”

“I’ve never—I mean, what are they about?”

John turned around and took two DVD cases off of the massive movie collection on their inbuilt shelves. He handed them to her. The one cover, _The Lone Time Lord_ showed a tough looking man wearing a leather jacket, a blonde hair woman wearing baggy clothing standing firmly in front of him. The second cover was the silhouettes of two people (the same man and woman?) standing in front of a massive orangey-red circle.

“The man is a time traveler. He comes from another planet and can go anywhere. However, he’s—he’s quiet alone. And he’s incredibly sad. And he’s reckless. But then he meets—”

“Wait, don’t tell me. A woman.” Rose grinned. “So predictable.”

John looked a little uncomfortable. “She’s based on you.”

Rose snapped her eyes to his. “What?”

“In the beginning, I didn’t—She didn’t exist. Not when I started writing. But then I met you. And you…you convinced me to add her in. So,” he shrugged. “I did. You told me he needed her and she needed him. I was wary at first, but then…” He smiled. “She grew on me.”

Rose turned the cover over on the first movie and read the back. “Lily Smith? Are you serious?”

John grinned. “Oh yes. I very much like your name, Rose Tyler.”

It was the first time he ever said her full name (her maiden name) and she was not comfortable with how her heart started pumping and her face flushed. It was idiotic. So he called her by her full name, so what? But for whatever reason, him doing that made her feel like a school girl with a crush on the teacher.

Before Rose could ask any more questions, there was a distinct child’s cry from upstairs. Both looked at the ceiling, as though able to see right through it. “I thought Jackie put her down,” John muttered.

“That’s—that’s her, isn’t it.”

John nodded, almost like he knew Rose couldn’t call the child by her name. “I need to see if she’s okay.” He paused. Only Gabby’s cries were heard. “Do you—” he said softly, “do you want to…?”

“No,” Rose said firmly. She felt horrible, not wanting to see the baby, but…that baby was not _hers_. It belonged to a Rose Tyler (-Noble?) that lived these past six years. Rose wouldn’t know where to begin. She wasn’t much of a baby person, thinking kids were okay as long as they stayed far away from her. Now she actually had a baby? No.

John nodded slowly before going towards the stairs. Rose rubbed her face, trying to make sense out of everything that had happened in the past 24 hours. Not one thing has made sense, other than she has amnesia. And even that was debatable. Rose was certain this was a dream. All of it. And she would just wake up and be back in her bed and everything would be set right.

Feeling a little bit better, Rose got up and looked around the house. The first floor had a pretty decent layout: the fully stocked kitchen went right into the living room, which had a remote controlled fireplace and a huge big screen telly. On other either side of the telly and fireplace were built in shelves that had more movies and books than Rose had ever seen in one house. In front of the one shelf was a huge Christmas tree, trimmed with all kinds of ornaments and twinkling white lights. To her right was another room and Rose went to investigate there. It had two entrances, each with French doors. An office, obviously. Half hers and half Johns. Her half had a huge art table, with a sketch book that was being held on the table by a huge piece of clay. She opened it up and looked at the drawings.

There were obviously for the next movie John was writing. On the first page, up towards the top were the words _M.M.W/B. III – Return of the Daleks._ Rose had no idea what the word ‘daleks’ even meant, though clearly they were the enemies here. The clothing was all pretty basic—the leather jacket and dark jeans for the man, jeans and a bright red sweater for the woman. But other clothing was more intricate. Robots that needed clothing, as well as aliens that Rose could not even comprehend.

Closing the book, Rose continued on towards a desk that had a laptop in the center of it. She clicked on random keys and was mildly surprised when it turned on. The background picture was of Rose and John, kissing in the snow. Whether this computer was hers or John’s, both of them liked to have pictures of the other one. Which wasn’t a bad thing at all, but made Rose, right now, feel uncomfortable.

Sitting at the desk, Rose clicked for the internet and typed in Google, which immediately came up. Glad to know some things never changed, Rose typed her name into the search engine and pressed enter.

A load of websites popped up, and she clicked on the first one.

The article mainly discussed John’s latest movie, but there was picture of the two of them, laughing on the red carpet (must have been the movie premiere) each having one arm around the other one. The caption read, “ _Screenwriter, John Noble with wife, Rose Noble, fashion designer for movie_.” Rose pressed back and went back to the main screen.

She clicked on another website. This one was for the first movie, _The Lone Time Lord_ , and again they were smiling at the camera, arms around each other. This time, however, she was obviously pregnant beneath her black dress. This caption read, “ _Movie fashion designer, Rose Noble, 25, pregnant with child of John Noble, 34, screenwriter for movie.”_

She went to the search engine and typed in ‘ _Mad Man With a Box_ series’ before clicking on images. There were pictures from the movie, behind the scenes and stills from the movie. But what surprised her was how many pictures were of ordinary people dressed like the characters from the movie. She clicked on one where a woman was taking a selfie while wearing a black leather jacket and a dark purple jumper. Her captain read, ‘ _Going out as the Professor! <3 #madmanwithabox #lovethatmovie #feelsoconfident’_

She wasn’t the only one who dressed up as characters from that movie. A lot of people took similar pictures, while some dressed as the woman, Lily, from the movie. It seemed that Rose had gotten her wish after all: people were wearing her designs.

Rose heard footsteps on the stairs and immediately closed the laptop. It wasn’t like she was doing something awful, or even invading privacy. This was her life.

Trying to not feel guilty for looking into her own life, Rose turned around to find John leaning against the doorframe.

“Is…is she okay?”

John nodded. “Yeah, she’s fine. She was just hungry.”

“You keep food upstairs? In her bedroom?”

“No, I came down to get her something. You didn’t hear me?”

“No. I was, uh…I was looking up stuff.”

“What kind of stuff?”

She shrugged. “I Googled myself.”

John laughed. He made a noise like he couldn’t blame her. “We actually…we have a rule about Googling ourselves, but…I think in this instance, I’ll make an exception.”

Rose smiled. “Thank you.”

John nodded his head towards her.

Silence. Rose had no idea what to say, a thousand questions running through her head. What finally popped out was a yawn.

“You’re probably exhausted,” John noted. “You should head to bed.”

Rose looked at the clock on the wall. It was well after midnight. She didn’t realize it was so late.

“You should sleep. Maybe it’ll help.”

She nodded. Sleep didn’t actually sound so bad. “Yeah, okay.” She got up and walked passed John before turning back towards him. “Er, John, I just wanted…I wanted to say thank you.”

“For what?”

“For everything. I…” She didn’t know what to say to him. _Thank you for being so caring_? _Thank you for not deserting me the moment you realized I couldn’t remember you_? _For being so concerned and wanting to help me get better_? Nothing seemed to be what she wanted to say. So she just settled for, “Thank you.”

He nodded. “Always, Rose Tyler.”

Rose felt a blush go up her neck and ran up the stairs before he realized she was blushing.


	4. Chapter 4

Rose awoke the next morning remembering everything that had happened the previous evening. 

She was surprised to find herself, however, alone in the room when she woke up, the space next to her untouched. Surprised, but not then again, not surprised. John was a gentleman and would never take advantage of Rose. In the little amount of time that she has known him, Rose was certain of that.

She was just finishing getting ready when she heard the cries of…of the little girl in the next room. Figuring that John would take care of it (or her mother whom she hasn’t seen since before Martha was over) would be there. However, a minute had passed and Rose didn’t hear anyone moving in the house. And the cries were getting louder.

Rose opened the door, unsure if she should even do this. She was not a mother. Well, technically she was,  but she didn’t _feel_ like a mother. Maybe she should wait for John to come. But he was either out of earshot or completely immune to the little one’s cries that he didn’t wake up. So, doing the right thing—though it scared her half to death—Rose walked to the door that had a little sign on it that said, **Gabriella’s Room** in fancy lettering before opening it up.

There, holding onto the edge of the crib, was the little girl Rose had only seen in pictures. And though she had tear tracks down her cheeks and her face was red from screaming, she was the most beautiful thing Rose had ever seen.

And, miracle of miracles, she stopped the moment she saw Rose. In fact, her whole face changed and she smiled, showing off the dimples that she got from her father. “Mama!”

Rose froze. Mama. The little one was calling _her_ Mama. She should have run out, gotten John or somebody to come and get this little one, but instead she walked closer to the crib.

Gabby held up her hands, the universal signal for ‘Pick me up.’

“Hello…Gabby.” Rose put her hands under the little girl’s armpits and picked her up. Gabby lightly played with Rose’s hair. “You like that, huh? Looks like you have your father’s hair.” Gabby looked up at her. Rose quickly inhaled. “But you have my eyes,” she whispered. Gabby laughed. It sounded like little jingle bells going off. It was music to Rose’s ears. She couldn’t help but laugh back.

Gabby put her head on her mother’s shoulder, completely content. Rose didn’t know what to do or where to go. But she was quite content to stand there for however long possible and simply hold this magnificent creature in her arms.

Maybe being a mother and a wife wasn’t the worse thing in the world.

Rose had no idea how much time passed before she heard thumping coming up the stairs. The door to Gabby’s room flung open and John stood there, wearing plaid pajama bottoms and a white vest. And looking more handsome than he had the right to.

“Oh God, Rose, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to sleep that long and I thought I would hear her when I awoke and…” He finally took in the scene before him. “Everything looks good.”

“You sound surprised.”

“Well, I…I mean, I know you can handle any situation with Gabs, probably better than I can. But I just…”

“I know,” Rose said. And she did know. She knew exactly what he was going to say. Which was weird, in and of itself.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. But…I think Gabby needs her nappy changed.”

“Oh!” John reached for his daughter who smiled with delight as she said, “Dada!” He began talking to her, his voice soothing and reassuring as he told her what they were going to do during the day. Rose watched him change the diaper, his expert hands knowing exactly where everything was. He must have been an organized person, because Rose knew she was sloppy as could be.

Once the nappy was changed, John said, “Pick out an outfit for her.”

Rose turned to the small dresser in the corner of the room and opened it up. There were so many outfits, each one more adorable than the next. Rose didn’t know what to pick until she saw a red and white stripped dress, perfect for the holidays.

She handed it to John who took it and started putting the dress on his daughter while singing _Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer_.

“ _Than one foggy Christmas Eve, Santa came to say_ — _IN HIS UNDERWEAR_!”

Rose laughed as she sang along with him, _“‘Rudolph with your nose so bright, won’t you guide my sleigh tonight?_ ’”

John looked over at Rose. She couldn’t explain the look in his eyes. “What?” she asked, giving a nervous chuckle.

He shook his head. “Sometimes, I can’t believe you exist.”

She laughed uncomfortably. “Because I know the words to _Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer_?”

“No.” He shook his head as he finished putting on the tights for Gabby. “No, because you always amaze me. And I just…I wanted you to know that.”

They couldn’t stop staring at each other. Rose could feel her heart pounding, the butterflies in her stomach. Her mind was whirling and though she’s had crushes on boys, maybe even fancied the thought of being in love with a few, none of that compared to how she was feeling at this moment. She felt invincible, but at the same time so incredibly vulnerable.

It surprised (but at the same time it didn’t) that she was thinking about kissing him. She almost could see herself grabbing the back of his neck and pulling him down towards her.

The moment was broken a moment later when the doorbell started ringing like crazy and someone was pounding on the door.

“What in the world…?” Rose muttered.

“JOHN!” someone screamed.

John himself paled. “Oh no.”

“John?” Rose asked, suddenly terrified. “Who is it?”

“I may have forgotten to tell Donna about what happened until very late last night and I guess she just got my message.”

The doorbell was going crazy, but Rose suddenly heard the door open. Her mother—at least she hoped it was her mother—must have opened it.

Rose whispered, “Who’s Donna?”

“My sister.” He picked up Gabby and held her securely in his arms. “If I hold Gabs, she won’t hit me.”

John walked towards the stairs, Rose following close behind. If she was any closer to him, he’d be giving her a piggy-back ride.

“ _JOHN IAN NOBLE! WHAT IN THE BLOODY HELL WAS THAT MESSAGE YOU LEFT FOR ME?! WHY WAS I INFORM AT ONE O’CLOCK IN THE  BLOODY MORNING THAT MY SISTER-IN-LAW WAS IN A BLOODY CAR ACCIDENT?!_ ”

“Hi, Donna,” John replied as softly as he could. “Please remember that I’m holding my daughter, your only niece, in my arms right now.” 

“You have to put her down at some point!”

Rose has never seen someone who could yell quiet as loudly as Jackie Tyler until this very moment. The red-head at the door was fuming, her face furious. Jackie herself (which, when did she get in? Or was she here all night? Knowing her, she probably was) seemed to take a step back and let John’s sister—Donna?—get her frustration out.

Donna seemed to finally notice her sister-in-law. “Rose!” she yelled, though much more happily. She stepped around John and grabbed Rose in a huge embrace. “Oh, I was so worried! Not only does this dumbo tell me through a bloody voicemail—”

“I’m still holding a baby, Donna,” John said, though his sister barely noticed.

“—that you were in a car accident, but then he doesn’t pick up his phone!”

“Oops.”

Donna let go of Rose and turned to glare at her brother. “Yeah, ‘Oops.’ You’re lucky I didn’t tell Mum.”

John shifted Gabby in his arms and shuddered. “No, don’t tell Mum. You know how she is.”

“I do know.” Turning back to Rose, Donna asked more softly than anything else she had said, “Are you okay, Rose? Oh, look at that bruise! What happened? Do you need to lie down?”

“I’m fine,” Rose answered. She looked over at John, asking a silent question. She wasn’t surprise when he gave a quick nod. “I just, er, well I have a bit of memory loss.”

That shut Donna up real quick. Eyes opened wide, she looked at Rose before looking over at John before looking back at Rose. “Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

“What—What’s the last thing you remember?”

“A gala I went to…six years ago.”

Donna took a step back. “You can’t remember what happened for the past six _years_?”

Rose shook her head.

“I don’t…What…So you don’t remember Gabby? Or John? Or…me?”

Again, Rose shook her head.

Donna, for the first time it seemed, was speechless. John, holding Gabby securely in one arm, gently put his other arm around Rose. “Why don’t we make some breakfast and talk about this. I know Gabs must be hungry.”

“I’ll take Gabby,” Jackie said for the first time, stepping forward to grab her granddaughter.

“I’ll—I’ll help you, Jackie,” Donna said in a bit of a daze. She took off her jacket and scarf, handing it to John before following Jackie into the kitchen.

John hung up his sister’s things, all the while looking at Rose. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Are you?”

He chuckled. “That’s just Donna. I’m used to it. She’s all bluster and fire, but once you get to know her, you realize she’s like a kitten.” He made a face. “Don’t tell her I said that.”

Rose smiled but promised.

“We should set up the table,” John said, moving around Rose towards the kitchen. He took two steps before he turned back and gently took her hand in his. Rose marveled at how perfectly his fingers slid into hers. “Wanna help?”

She nodded and let herself be lead into the kitchen. Rose watched as Donna sat at the kitchen table with Gabby in a high chair and fed her. Or at least, tried to. Gabby, it seemed, did not want whatever Donna had in her hands.

“No, Don! No!”

“Please, Gabby. One bite.”

“No, Don! No!”

“You’re stubborn like your father, you know that?”

“I don’t know,” Jackie said, frying some bacon by the stove. The smell made Rose’s stomach growl. “Rose is mighty stubborn too.”

Donna looked at her niece. “You have no hope.”

John let go of Rose’s hand in order to reach the plates. Taking enough for himself, Rose, Jackie, Pete, and Donna, he handed them to Rose before he was reaching for the silverware.

They walked into the dining room, Donna still having no luck with her niece.

“So, um,” Rose started, as they set the table. it was seemed weird to be asking this question, but it was something that she was curious about. “How did we…meet?”

John smiled. “We actually met at my place of work. TARDIS Café.”

She looked up, startled. “I remember that place.” _But I don’t remember you._ She couldn’t say it, but he understood her anyway.

He gave her a sad smile. “You always ordered the same thing. Two Grande Iced Salted Caramel Mocha.”

Rose actually remembered ordering that almost every day. It was Reinette’s favorite drink. Rose ordered two just in case one fell. “How do you remember that?”

He shrugged. “Good memory, me.”

_"Rose, right?”_

_“Er, yeah.”_

_“You’re in here every day. Good memory, me.”_

“I remember you!” Rose shouted, almost stunned that he stood out in her mind.

John snapped his head up. “What? What did you say?”

“You—You were the barista. You served me coffee every day. I remember.” His face popped up in her mind, clear as day. His dark blue apron and his wild hair and even wilder smile. He rambled on about….

“Coffee! You rambled on about Gingerbread lattes and eggnog lattes and…Chestnut Praline! You said…”

“ _Also a Chestnut Praline Latte, which I’m not exactly sure what a praline is, but either way, Donna makes the best Chestnut Praline Latte you’ve ever had._ ”

“You said Donna made the best Chestnut Praline Latte I would ever have.”

“Rose you remember! That’s wonderful!” John came around the table and picked her up in a swinging hug. “I knew you’d start to remember!”

She gave a laugh, thrilled to remember something. However…

“That was the day of the accident.”

John set her down. “What do you mean?”

Rose’s smile quickly faded as she said, “That night was the gala. That’s when I met Clara. And…I think I got into an accident.”

He pulled back. “You never told me that.”

“I didn’t…that’s when I woke up here.”

John was silent, not sure what to say.

Rose shook her head, not wanting to focus on that anymore. “Tell me more. About when we first met. All I remember is you talking about the coffee and ramblings.”

John, for some reason, actually blushed. “Right. So anyway, I uh—God, I don’t even know why I’m embarrassed! I’m your bleeding husband now!”

Rose chuckled. He continued.

“I, uh, I actually had a bit of a crush on you, which was why I was probably rambling. Not that that is the only reason why I ramble, because my gob can just go on and on…Anyway, it was crazy, really, since I didn’t actually _know_ you, but I…Oh, I thought you were the most beautiful woman I had ever met.”

Rose blushed under his praise. Surely he was talking about someone other than her. “Really?”

“Oh yes,” he said, without hesitation. He cleared his throat. “But you didn’t ever seem to notice me. Which was fine—Well, not really, but I was getting used to it.”

“What changed?”

He looked to the side and a smile graced his face. “You came in on Christmas Day, ordered an Eggnog Latte and said—and I quote—‘This is so unlike me, but will you go out with me?’ I was so stunned, I couldn’t say anything. I was sure you were taking a mickey or something. But no, you were quite serious. And I said yes because it was what I wanted more than anything.”

“You’re right, that doesn’t sound like me at all.”

He smiled. “Well, I am grateful for the change in character.” He cleared his throat, almost done putting the silverware out. “We dated for a year. I asked you to marry me the next Christmas. It was perfect.”

Rose shook her head. “That sounds lovely.”

“It was.” He was fiddling with a fork when he said, “I…About six months in our relationship, you called me one day and said you wanted to go for a drive. I asked you where to go and you answered, ‘Show me the stars.’ So we got into my horribly old, yet completely trustworthy car and drove. And drove and drove and drove. We had to be driving for hours, yet it was…I don’t ever remember having that much fun in a car ride.” He cleared his throat. “So we finally end up in the middle of nowhere. I have no bloody idea where we are. I think we somehow were in Scotland for all I know. Anyway, it was pitch black and the sky…” He looked so entranced by his memory. “The sky went on for miles. We saw so many shooting stars that night.

“Anyway, I remember we were sitting on the hood of my car, wrapped up in a blanket cause it was kind of cold, and I asked you—I don’t even know where this came from—but I asked you if you believed in soulmates. And you said, ‘If I never met you, the answer would be no.’ And I knew. In that instant I knew I wanted to marry you.”

Rose was leaning on a chair, lost in his story. “That’s beautiful,” she said. Her heart ached. She wished she could remember his story firsthand. It sounded better than she could have ever have hoped for.

“It was. I never had much stock in soulmates and kismet or anything like that, but when I met you…You changed me.”

“For the better,” Donna said, coming into the room with her niece on her hip. “John was a miserable git before he meant you, Rose. Always sad and whining about whatever. After he met you…it was like he was a changed man.”

“That’s because I was,” John smiled over at his wife.

She smiled back. Rose was nowhere used to being a wife or even a mother, but she knew that as long as she had John…

Well, anything was possible.


	5. Chapter 5

“ _Make my wish come truuuuuuuuue! All I want for Christmas is yoooooooou!_ ”

Rose rubbed her eyes, waking slowly from her nap. Her mother had left shortly after breakfast (and yes, she stayed all night, sleeping in the guest room, in case Rose needed her) and Donna was playing with Gabby when Rose started yawning and John insisted that she go get some rest.

It seemed all she was doing was sleeping. That is, until something woke her up.

“ _’Cause I just want you here tonight! Holding on to me so tight! What more can I do? Baby, all I want for Christmas is yooooou!_ ”

Rose threw the blanket off of her, running towards the door. It was definitely John singing, that there was no doubt. But why on Earth was he singing on the top of his lungs?

Running down the stairs, Rose stopped short when she saw Gabby in her playpen, holding onto the edge and jumping up and down with a huge smile on her face as her father belted out with the radio. “ _The lights are shining so brightly everywhere! And the sound of children’s laughter fills the air!_ ” He reached towards Gabby and tickled her on her stomach, making her laughter even louder. “ _And everyone is singing—OH YEAH! I hear those sleigh bells ringing! Santawon’tyoubringmewhatIreallyneed? Won’t you please bring my baby to meeeeeee—_ ROSE!”

John grabbed the remote, turning the music off. He was all flushed, though because of his musical performance or because of embarrassment, Rose didn’t know. However, she couldn’t stop her grin from spreading as she said, “Hello.”

“I, er, thought you were asleep.” He rubbed the back of his neck. Rose knew—even in the short amount of time she had known him—that meant he was nervous or uncomfortable about something.

“I was. Until someone decided to sing at the top of their lungs.” She grinned, poking her tongue out a bit. She couldn’t help it. John just made her laugh.

“Sorry. It’s just…Gabs loves when I sing to her, and since Christmas is tomorrow…Sorry.”

“No, don’t be sorry.” Rose sat down. “Please continue.”

John placed the remote and the whisk that he apparently was using as a microphone down on the side table. “No, I think I’m good.”

“Oh, come on.” Rose said as Gabby jumped some more in her playpen, making her few toys in there go flying.

“More!” Gabby yelled.

“See? Even your daughter wants more. Please?”

John looked like he was backed into a corner and didn’t like it. “On one condition.”

“Oh?”

“You sing with me.”

Rose flushed. “Oh, John, I can’t…”

“Why not? I’m sure you remember the songs. You were singing _Rudolph_ this morning.”

“Dada! More!”

“She wants you to sing,” Rose protested as John went to what could have been a modern day iPod, but Rose wasn’t too sure.

“Nonsense. She was just watching me. She’d enjoy both of us singing. Come on!”

A familiar tune started up and Rose shook her head. “This is not a Christmas song.”

“Well, they always play it at Christmas. And I know you know every word. It’s from your favorite movie!”

 

 _Rain drops on roses, and whiskers on kittens_.

 _Bright cooper kettles and warm woolen mittens_.

 

Rose stood up, groaning. “John…”

 “ _Brown paper packages tied up with string! These are a few of my favorite things!_ ” John picked up the whisk and held it out towards Rose.

She gave him a look before snatching it and singing along quietly, “ _Cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudels._ ”

“Louder!” John encouraged. Gabby, though not jumping up down like she did when watching her father, was captivated watching Rose.

Rose sang louder. When the music picked up, Rose sang louder still. John laughed and pulled Rose into his arms, waltzing around the living room as she continued singing all of her favorite things. She may have stepped on his toes a few times, but either he didn’t notice or didn’t care. He stared belting out the song along with her, their voices making a unique harmony.

Towards the end of the song, Rose was dizzy and out of breath, almost collapsing on John when Julie Andrews belted out the last note. But both were laughing so hard, leaning on the other and not caring too much about how the room wouldn’t stop spinning.

Gabby chimed in. “More! More!”

Rose leaned back and looked up at John, whose eyes were crinkling down at her. For moment she couldn’t breathe and the room spun for a completely different reason. John was, without a doubt, the most handsome man she had ever met. But he was more than that. John was…

Well, he was everything she had hoped to find in a man, but realistic to admit that he didn’t exist. But he did exist. He was right in front of her.

For the second time that day, Rose thought about kissing him. She was curious to see if kissing him would be as comfortable as everything else about him.

“Mama!”

The moment was once again broken when Gabby said, “Poo-poo.”

“Oh,” John said pulled away from Rose and going towards his daughter. “I’ll take care of this.”

“I’ll just go—I’ll start dinner.”

He picked up Gabby, but turned to look at Rose. “Since when do you know how to cook?”

“Since I learned how to call for take-out.”

“Smart-arse.”

Rose couldn’t help but copy his grin. “Baby in your arms.”

He shook his head as he headed towards the stairs. “Nice to see some things haven’t changed.”

Rose bit her lip, trying to figure out her feeling towards John. She didn’t know if it was love, exactly, but it was definitely an infatuation. She couldn’t stop thinking about him and he was just so…wonderful. If this was a dream, Rose knew her heart would break upon waking. Because if he was a figment of her imagination…

But he wasn’t! She actually met him, at Bad Wolf Café the day of the accident. Only she was so focused on her job and Reinette that she barely paid him any attention. She wondered what changed that day that she started to speak to him. Maybe she woke up and smelt the coffee—no pun intended.

Opening the fridge, Rose’s thoughts were nowhere near dinner, but instead thinking about the man upstairs. How did she get so lucky to call him her own? The stars must have aligned in the perfect way.

Her eyes looked over at the counter and they widen. Closing the fridge, her other hand reached for the jar just sitting there. She couldn’t help it. Rose loved Nutella, and the jar was just sitting there, beckoning to her. Grabbing a spoon from the drawer, Rose then opened the jar and stuck the spoon inside. When she pulled it out, there was a lovely glob of chocolaty goodness and Rose put it in her mouth with a sweet, “Hmmm.” It was nice to know that even in the massive confusion, this was still the same.

“I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve caught you doing that,” John said, leaning against the doorframe with a smile. “I think that stuff is disgusting.”

Rose couldn’t reply, thanks to the Nutella in her mouth. But she did point to the jar and then rubbed her stomach.

He chuckled and shook his head. “No, I don’t think it’s as good as you think it is.”

Finally swallowing, she asked, “Have you ever tried it?”

“Yes, I have. It’s gross. It look like—”

Rose covered his mouth with her hand. “Don’t finish that thought.”

John laughed as he lowered her hand. “Fair enough. I just don’t understand the big hoopla about it.”

“Every morsel of this is a joy, a celebration on a spoon.” She put a small amount on a spoon before putting it towards his mouth. “It’s a glob of gloriousness.”

John smiled. “I think I’ll pass.”

Rose had no idea what came over her. Before she thought any better, she put the small amount onto her finger and then traced it along his smooth cheek. She laughed at his stunned expression.

Licking her finger, she chuckled. “It looks good on you.”

He wiped it off of his cheek before putting it in his mouth. He made a face. “I don’t know. I think I need another tasting.” Putting his finger into the jar, he had a small dose of it before putting it against her lips. Before she could give any kind of reaction, he leaned down and kissed her.

It was the first kiss between them that she could remember, and it simply stole her breath away. He tasted like Nutella, his lips making the chocolate spread melt. He knew exactly what she liked, and before she could help herself, she was wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him closer.

Rose had no idea how much time could have passed. Two seconds, five hours, she didn’t have a clue. But the need for oxygen was getting strong, so she pulled back.

He slowly opened his eyes. Rose must have had a look of shock, because instead of looking smug or pleased with himself, he looked ashamed.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. You’re not ready yet and I—I’m sorry.”

“John—”

“I don’t know why—Well, I _know_ why because you’re my wife and I love you and I just—Oh Jesus, I can’t say anything right, can I?”

“John—”

“I’m sorry, Rose, I am. You’re still trying to figure things out and I—”

“John!”

He stopped his rambling. “Yes?”

“John, I am not sorry that you kissed me. I just…I’m so comfortable with you, and I don’t know why. I know we have this past and I know that for you we’ve been together for years, but I’m still trying to figure all this out, yeah? So…” She bit her lip. “I’m not sorry you kissed me. In fact that was…I don’t ever remember getting kissed like that before. I just…it’s not the kissed that surprised me, but the feeling…”

“What do you feel?”

She lightly shook her head. “I don’t know, exactly. I don’t know how to describe it other than saying that I feel very…I feel comfortable around you.” She put her hands lightly on his arms. “I feel like I could say or do anything and you would stand by me.”

“Because I would.”

“I’m getting that. But for me…it’s like reading the last book of a long series first. Like, I know how everything turns out, but I don’t know the journey that got them to that point. And you don’t…I mean I…I don’t know what to feel.”

He nodded. “I know. For you we just met.”

“And not even met. I mean, I remember you talked to me, but it was about coffee. I don’t…I didn’t know that would start a relationship.”

He lightly brushed her hair away from her cheek and kissed her forehead. “I’m right here, Rose. Whenever you want to talk, whenever you want to do anything, I’ll be right here.”

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She immediately missed his warmth when he turned to walk out of the kitchen. Leaning against the counter, Rose muttered, “I know.”


	6. Chapter 6

Rose sat on the floor of Gabby’s room, playing with her daughter. John quietly mentioned that everyone was coming over later on, to celebrate Christmas Eve. Rose wasn’t too sure what “everyone” entailed, but John left so quickly, she didn’t have time to ask.

The last thing Rose wanted was to make John feel uncomfortable or hurt him in anyway. And she didn’t think she did. John is making this harder on himself. He must be so confused. On one hand, he doesn’t want to scare Rose, so he downplays his feelings. On the other hand, he wants his wife, his best friend, the woman who means everything to him.

Rose felt bad because she doesn’t know _how_ to be what he wants. She doesn’t know how to play the role of the wife, though she’s figuring out that it’s a lot like being herself. Laughing and fooling around and just…just wanting to be loved. And John does make her feel loved. If she had to go through this experience with anyone, she’s glad that it’s John by her side.

“Your father is quite something, huh?” Rose asked Gabby, who gurgled a response. “He’s also quite something to look at.”

Rose always had a soft spot for a cute smile and a gorgeous bum and John had both. But it was more than that. It was also his warm brown eyes that showed his every emotion and his wild brown hair that made her want to run her fingers through it. It was his tall lean body that felt so sturdy and strong when they were dancing around the living room. It was his laughter, his smile, his dimples. It was…everything about him.

Rose leaned closer to her daughter and asked, “Is this what it feels like to be in love?”

She made a bubble with her spit in response.

Rose laughed. “Oh, Gabby.” She grabbed a loose cloth from the floor and wiped her mouth. She then pulled her onto her lap and put her cheek to the top of Gabby’s head. “You are very special, Gabriella Noble. I hope you know that. You have John Noble as your father and for that alone, you are very special.”

There was a soft knock on the door and it opened to reveal John, who was wearing black framed glasses. Rose lost her breath for a moment. She was certain this man could wear the most ridiculous outfit ever and she would _still_ find it hard to breath. “Hey, I thought you’d want to start getting ready. People will be arriving soon.”

“Yeah. Okay.”

“Gabs needs to be put down for a nap.”

Rose nodded. “Right.” She got up—a little difficult with Gabby in her arms, but still manageable—and turned to place her daughter in the crib. John turned on some soft music to help her go to sleep as Rose tucked her in. “See you later, Sweetheart.” Bending down, she kissed her on her forehead before tucking her in once more and walking towards the door. Rose watched as John followed her actions, whispering something to Gabby. When he stood up straight, he followed Rose to the door and they both walked out.

“You’re amazing with her. Not that I ever thought you weren’t, but recently…”

“I know what you mean. And,” she shrugged. “I guess I surprise myself sometimes.”

John reached for her and pulled her into a hug. “You always surprise me. And I know how wonderful you really are, Rose Tyler.”

“Why do you call me that?” Rose asked, pulling back but not out of his arms. “I thought I changed my last name.”

“You did. Legally you’re Rose Noble, but ‘Rose Tyler’…” He gave that grin that made her heart pound. “I love your name. Three easy syllables. Rose Ty-ler. Rolls right off the tongue.”

She smiled. “I never thought of my name that way.” She put her head on his chest. His heart pounded steadily under her ear. It was so comforting. “I once read a quote a child said about love. They were asked how do they know love, and the child responded, ‘The way they say your name is different.’ That’s what you saying my name is like.”

“It’s how you define how I love you?”

She knew he loved her. He admitted it earlier in the kitchen. But the thought made Rose’s mind spin and her heart leap into her throat. Taking a gulp, she answered, “One of the many ways I’ve figured it out.”

He pulled back a bit. “I don’t know if I should be ashamed for being so obvious or glad.”

Rose gently placed her hand on his cheek. “Glad. Always glad.”

Placing her other hand on the back of his neck, she gently pulled his down. He met her willingly. Rose felt like Belle at the end of _Beauty and the Beast_ when the Beast kisses her and the wind starts wiping their clothes and hair around and the sparks fly. Because that’s what a kiss from John does to her. Makes her feel like magic is at her fingertips.

Rose opened her mouth, and John instantly took the kiss deeper, placing his hands on either side of her face. She was gripping his hair, his shirt. She couldn’t breathe. She didn’t want to. 

The doorbell rang.

“I hate that thing,” John muttered against her lips.

“Me too.” She took a deep breath. This time he did look smug. She smacked him lightly. “Go answer the door.”

“Er, give me a minute.”

Rose flushed, instantly knowing what he meant. She giggled. “Fine, I’ll get it.” She turned before she remembered something and looked at John, ignoring the doorbell that rang again. “I saw the shopping list in your coat pocket. Apparently we desperately need batteries?”

This time John flushed and his mouth opened, though no sound came out. She kissed him quickly before turning and running down the stairs.

She opened the door, but the man on the other side was not familiar to her (big shocker there). He was handsome. Movie star handsome with his jet black hair and piercing blue eyes. And he must have heard about her situation because he said with an American accent, “Rose! It’s Jack Harkness, the love of your life.”

“Jack!” John said warningly, coming down the stairs.

“What? I heard that Rose may need some reminding of things.”

“Jack, nice to meet you. Again.” Rose gestured to the house. “Come in. I’m sorry. I’m not quite ready yet.”

“Well, I think John is. Interesting shade of lip gloss, you got there buddy.”

John used his sleeve to wipe his mouth. “You have impeccable timing.” 

“I’ve heard,” he winked. Turning serious, he turned to Rose. “You are okay, though, right? Donna called me, but I’m so sorry, I was working and those damn directors don’t want you going anywhere until the scene is good and…Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Except for missing six years of my life, I’m great.”

“Well, I’m sure I could remind you of everything. To start off with, I’m the one you really want. You just settled with John.”

“Ah,” Rose said, knowing that he was just teasing her. “I knew it.”

“Jack, Rose has to get ready for the guests.”

“And what am I, chopped liver?”

“Just a step above that.”

Rose grinned as the two men bickered like brothers as she ascended the stairs. As she found a decent red dress and shoes to match, she could hear the doorbell ringing and the chatter of people talking.

When she was just about finished, Rose checked in on Gabby and saw her wide awake, babbling to herself. Once she was changed into a hunter green dress, with white tights and little black shoes, Rose went downstairs to meet the guests.

Her mother and Pete were talking to a woman Rose didn’t recognize. Martha was sitting on the couch, her arm around Mickey Smith (someone Rose knew from way-back-when) talking to John. Donna was talking to Jack in the corner, the two of them snickering over something. Clara Oswald was even there, a man’s arm around her shoulder. Another red head was talking to the two of them, a man standing next to her holding two glasses of wine.

“Rose!” Clara said when she saw her. She ran over and gave Rose an awkward hug (Rose was still holding Gabby). “Oh, Rose! John called me yesterday! I must have left you ten messages! Are you alright? What happened?”

Rose put her daughter down who immediately wobbled to her father. John picked her up and glanced over at Rose, giving her a huge smile.

Rose explained the situation, and yes, she did remember Clara, though to her they just met. Clara introduced the people she was talking with. “This is Amelia and Rory Williams. Amelia is the make-up artist on set and Rory is the medic. And this is Matt Song, their cousin and my boyfriend. You’ve met Amelia and Rory—though I realize you don’t remember them—but you haven’t met Matt yet.”

“Ah. It’s nice to meet you all. I’m sorry that I can’t…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Amelia said, a Scottish accent coming through. “As long as you are all right. You must have scared the bejesus out of John, though.”

“John has been…he’s been amazing.”

“I’ve never seen one of you without the other,” Clara commented. “You’re like a package deal or something.”

“Wait, what? When I met you, I didn’t even know John.”

“Really?” Clara said, sounding honestly surprised. “You two have been together for as long as I’ve known you.”

“When I woke up a couple of days ago…I didn’t know John. The last memory I have is the night of the gala, when we met.”

“Yeah, I remember. But then we were out of contact for a couple of months, but then when you called me up it was because your boyfriend was writing a script and you wanted to know if I would help you design the clothes.”

“The first _Time Lord_ movie.”

“Yes!”

Rose nodded. “I don’t…I don’t remember any of that.”

“It’ll come back,” Rory said. “Eventually.”

They made small talk for a few minutes before Rose went over to her mother and Pete. “How are you feeling, Sweetheart?” Jackie asked, pulling her daughter into a hug.

“I’m good.”

“You look better than you did,” Pete observed.

“I feel better.”

“Is everything alright?” the woman they were talking to asked. “Rose, why haven’t you greeted me? It’s like you don’t know who I am!”

“Er,” Rose started to say, because she honestly didn’t know. Was she some famous actress from the movie or something?

“Mum! Have you tried the crab puffs?” Donna said, coming right over to them. Ah, she was Donna and John’s mother, aka Rose’s mother-in-law. “They are divine! You should try one. John has them.”

“What is he…is he feeding my granddaughter _fish_?!” Donna’s mother almost shouted, pushing Donna out of the way to reach John.

“That’s John and my mum, in case you didn’t gather that. Her name is Sylva. Sylva Noble. And our grandfather, Wilfred Mott, is around somewhere, but I don’t know where. Probably admiring the stars, knowing Gramps.”

“Thanks for that, Donna,” Rose said, meaning it.

Donna waved her off. “What are sisters for? How are you feeling?”

“I’m getting sick of people asking me that question.”

“I know, but we all care for you.”

“We want to make sure you are safe,” Jackie commented.

“And you know that we love you,” Pete added.

“I know. It’s just…I’m confused but at the same time I’m not. It’s all just hard to process.”

“We’re here if you need anything, Rose,” Donna said.

“I know. I just…” She bit her lip. “Donna, can I ask you something? In private?”

“Sure.”

They went upstairs to Rose and John’s bedroom and closed the door. “Is everything alright?”

“You mentioned earlier today that John…that John was miserable before he met me. And I feel horrible, not knowing who he is and not knowing…what I feel for him is all jumbled up and I don’t know if it’s love or admiration or…”

“The first time I met you, I liked you instantly,” Donna interrupted. “And it wasn’t because you were sweet or nice or smart. It was because every time I looked at my brother, he was looking at you with this amazed look on his face. It was like…” She shook her head. “I wish I knew how to explain it. He looked at you like you were everything to him. And I don’t believe in soulmates or kismet or destiny or fate or any of that. But when I see you two together…You make me believe in anything.”

“How is that possible?”

“How is love possible? There is no explanation to love, no simple way to answer it. I just know that when you came down the stairs and looked at John…for a moment it was like nothing changed. You two acted like you always did: sickeningly in love.”

Rose flushed and looked away. “I wish I understood what I feel for him. I don’t know if it’s gratitude or love or admiration or what. I just know that if he wasn’t with me right now…I’d feel empty inside.”

“Like you were missing a piece of yourself.”

“Exactly.”

Donna nodded. “I think you, Rose Noble, are in love. But only you can know for sure. You and my brother have a very special relationship and if this,” she gestured to Rose, “doesn’t break you apart…If anything, it made you stronger. And I would die a very happy woman if I ever found that.”

Rose raised her eyebrows. “I noticed you and Jack earlier.”

Donna scoffed. “Now you’ve really lost your marbles. Jack and me? Never.” Donna headed towards the door. “Now, I believe that we have a Christmas party to get back to. And I’m sure your husband is looking for you.”

Rose smiled before nodding and following Donna out of the room. John was looking for Rose, but he just wanted to make sure everything was okay. When she assured him that she was fine, he gave her a smile that made her stomach flip.

Dinner was loud, noisy, and very entertaining. Rose was sitting next to John and her mother, conversation flowing the entire time. Wilf came over to Rose at one point and gently told her that John had filled him in on her condition and if she had any questions, he would try his best to help her.

Rose couldn’t help but feel the love from everyone at this table. These were her closest friends, her family. And though she was happy back in her old life, she never quite felt like this. This feeling of…well, of content.

John kept looking at Rose, placing his hand comforting on her leg at one point. Rose put her hand over his and their fingers interlocked and she knew that nothing could get better than this. She didn’t know if she was completely in love with John yet, but she knew that she was most certainly heading towards it.

When dinner was done and the table was cleared, everyone gathered in the living room to exchange presents. Rose paled, realizing that she never bought anything, but John calmly reassured her that yes, they did buy presents and they were wrapped a week ago.

Just like dinner, everyone was talking over one another, admiring gifts or laughing at something that was an inside joke. While Rose didn’t completely feel like an outsider, she didn’t quite feel like she belonged either. Jokes were made that she knew what she should have understood, but she didn’t. And anytime she felt bad about that, John would squeeze her hand and whisper to her what the joke meant.

Towards the end of the gift exchanging, Rose stepped out onto the front stoop, breathing in the cold air. It felt good, considering how hot it was in there with everyone gathered around. She was rubbing her arms when the door opened and John came out.

“Are you okay?” He took his jacket and placed it around her shoulders.

“Yeah. I’m fine. I just needed some cool air.”

He nodded, putting his hands in his pockets. “Yeah, I know what you mean. Getting warm in there.”

She nodded. They were silent. Finally, Rose said, “John, I wanted to…thank you. For everything.”

“Oh, Rose Tyler, there is no place I would rather be.”

She smiled. “I get that. I do. But it’s just…you could have walked out. You could have told me to deal with this on my own, but you…You helped me. You have been there for me. You don’t know how much that means.”

He took his hands out of his pockets and placed them on her arms. “I made a promise four years ago that I would love you in sickness and in health. What kind of husband would I be if I took that back?”

Looking down, Rose nodded. “I know. But it stills means…Thank you.”

“Of course, Rose Tyler.”

She couldn’t help it. She reached up and pulled him down by his lapels. His kiss was warm and exciting and Rose never wanted it to stop.

Suddenly, she heard a car honking loudly. “Where is that coming from?” she asked, pulling away sharply.

“Where is what coming from?”

She looked around. “That honking. It’s so loud.”

John looked around as well. “There’s no honking.”

“What are you talking about, it’s—Ow!” Rose grabbed onto her forehead, a pain slicing through her skull.

“Rose?” John asked, almost panicking. “Rose? What’s wrong?”

“My head…”

“Rose!” John grabbed on tightly, she knew he did. Yet, why was his grip getting weaker?

“ _Help! Somebody come quick!_ ”

Rose looked up at John, but he was fading, much like a dream. “John? John?!”

“I’m here, Rose. I’m not going to leave you.”

“ _Someone call 999! She’s bleeding!_ ”

Rose tried to look up at him, but everything was getting weaker. She finally collapsed in his arms, yet she barely felt him holding her.

“John!”

“I love you, Rose. Stay with me!”

“ _I called an ambulance. They’re on their way._ ”

“John…” Rose whispered, before the world became black.

 

~*~

 

“One twenty over eighty.”

“That’s very good. Has she woken up yet?”

“No, sir. I’ll call you when she does. Has family been contacted?”

“I believe so. A mother, I think.”

“Good. Let me know when she gets here.”

“Yes, Doctor.”

 

~*~

 

The first thing Rose heard was beeping. It was consistent. _Beep. Beep. Beep_. She also felt someone holding her hand, but it wasn’t _his_ hand. No, this hand was warm and had long nails and many rings.

Without looking she knew it was her mother’s. She wondered where John was. He won’t leave her by herself. He had to be close by.

“John…” she croaked, her voice raspy.

“Pete, she’s waking up,” she heard her mother say.

“John…” Rose tried again, wondering why she didn’t hear her husband’s warm voice.

“Rose, sweetie, it’s okay. You can wake up.” That was Pete.

Rose opened her eyes and looked around. She was in a hospital, that much was clear. She was hooked up to machines. But she couldn’t find who she was looking for.

“John?” she tried again. Maybe he went to the bathroom.

What happened, though? One minute she was fine, talking to John, the next it was like everything was fading from view. She hoped she didn’t give everyone a scare. They were having such a lovely evening.

“Rose, honey, it’s Mummy.”

Rose looked over at her mum. She sobbed with delight. “Mum!” Jackie instantly wrapped her daughter up in a hug.

“Oh, Sweetheart, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Mum. Really. What happened?”

“You were in an accident,” Pete told her.

Rose pulled back. “Again?”

Jackie swept some of the hair away from Rose’s face. “What do you mean, again?”

“Well, I just got into an accident a couple of days ago. Where’s John? He’s probably frantic.”

Jackie looked at Pete, who shrugged. “Sweetheart,” she said softly, “you don’t know anybody named John.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has read this! I can't believe the feedback I've received. It's truly means a lot. And Happy Holidays to everyone!

Rose sat in her hospital, not sure whether she wanted to cry, scream, or punch a wall. So she did none of them. She sat there, numb, staring out through unseeing eyes.

It was a dream. The whole thing was a dream. She didn’t have a husband, a child. She never created a company called Bad Wolf or made clothes for movies. She didn’t live in the suburbs. There was no Sylva or Wilf. No Amy, Rory, Matt, or Jack. No Donna.

No Gabby.

No John.

Everything was just a dream. None of that happened. It was December 24, 2014, the day after her accident. She hit a pole, hitting her head on the steering wheel and knocking herself unconscious for just about twenty-four hours.

Jackie tried to get Rose to talk, but once she mentioned not knowing anybody named ‘John’ Rose stopped talking completely. Gone. He was gone.

No, gone meant he was here in the first place. He wasn’t. Because Rose made him up. She made up the perfect man and the perfect life.

Of bloody course.

She barely heard the doctors when they told her what she should do and not do. Thankfully her mother was there who nodded and jotted things down and asked all the questions that Rose couldn’t think of.

 _A dream. Just a dream_.

Since Rose didn’t have a concussion and all of her blood work came back negative, she was free to go. Everything Rose did, however, was automatic. She barely even registered that her mother was talking to her or that Christmas music was playing on the radio.

At least, until _All I Want for Christmas_ came on. Then she cried.

She sobbed, absolutely inconsolable. Pete wanted to pull over, thinking she was going to be sick, but Jackie insisted that he take them home, since that’s probably where she most wanted to be.

But she didn’t want to go to the small apartment that had no one besides her in it. She wanted her _house_ , the one with Gabby and John. The one that was oh so full last night with people who no longer knew her.

Rose walked into her parent’s apartment, barely even registering what she was doing. She collapsed on the couch, just remembering to take off her jacket, scarf, and hat. Putting on the telly, Rose tried to block out everything that had happened, hoping she could find _something_ to take her mind off of what happened.

Nothing worked, of course.

Flipping through the channels, Rose heard the sound of hush voices. Looking to the side, she saw her parents whispering urgently in the kitchen.

“—upset when we told her he wasn’t there,” Pete commented.

“Yes, but _who_ is this John? I’ve never heard her mention him.”

“Maybe she met him at work?”

“Oh, I doubt it,” Jackie scoffed. “Reinette works Rose to the bone. When would she have the time to meet a man?”

“I don’t know Jackie. She does more than just work.”

There was clanging. Jackie must be getting lunch ready. “When? She works so bloody hard.”

“Well, I think she _must_ go other places besides work. The shop, a Starbucks, a bar, I don't know. Maybe she met this John there.”

Starbucks. Café. _A café_! _TARDIS CAFÉ!_ John wasn’t a figment of her imagination! He was a real living person who worked at the TARDIS CAFÉ!

Rose was so focused on the fact that everything was a dream, she didn’t realize the possibly: it wasn’t a _dream_ , it was her _future_. John told her, in this vision, that she walked into the café on Christmas Day and asked him out.

Rose almost jumped out of her skin when she realized what was right in front of her the whole time. It wasn’t a dream!

It just hadn’t happened yet.

 

~*~

 

The whole night Rose was restless. Realizing that her dream was just a prediction of things to come cheered Rose up immensely. So much so that her mother and Pete raised an eyebrow at her change in behavior, though said nothing. The problem Rose now faced was having to wait until the next day to go to the café and finally get the ball rolling.

It was weird, knowing what was going to happen, but making sure the steps leading up to that moment were set. She didn’t want to get anything wrong. She’d seen those movies. You kill a butterfly and suddenly everything goes horribly wrong.

But right now she had to get through the night. It was only one o’clock in the morning and time seemed to be moving slower and slower. Just to get some sleep, Rose took some of the medicine the hospital gave her. It was to help with any pain, but it also knocked Rose out a bit. Next thing she knew, she was groaning and the sun was shining in her bedroom.

**9:24 a.m.**

Rose through off the covers and ran towards the bathroom. Taking the quickest yet the cleanest shower ever, Rose  got ready. Once her teeth were brushed, clothes on, hair brushed, and make-up applied, she ran into the kitchen were her mother and Pete were enjoying their breakfast. She kissed them both on the cheek, wished them a Happy Christmas, and told them she was going out for some coffee.

“We have coffee here!” her mother protested.

“I need an Eggnog Latte, Mum! I’ll be back in a bit!”

Rose practically ran towards TARDIS Café, hoping like hell he was even working today. She was positive he was, since that’s how his story went. But she just hoped fate wasn’t working against her.

The deep blue building came into sight and Rose’s heart started pounding and it wasn’t because of her mini-running. She wasn’t even sure why she was so nervous. She knew how the story ended. Still, her mind was racing and her heart was pounding and she couldn’t seem to catch her breath.

Giving herself a tiny shake and taking deep breaths, Rose walked to the café. When she opened the door, the smell of coffee and chocolate smacked her in the face, but also the warmth of the building just enveloped her. The radio was playing _My Favorite Things_.

And her heart stopped when she saw him. Brown hair sticking up like he continually ran his hand through it (which, even spending the short amount of time she did with him, she knew he did it regularly); his wild smile; his tall lean frame. He was real. He was _there_.

And he wasn’t by himself. There was another woman working beside him, making the drinks that people ordered. And Rose would recognize her anywhere: Donna Noble, his sister. Rose remembered him mentioning before about how Donna makes the best Chestnut Praline Latte. She just never made the connection that _that_ Donna was _this_ Donna. They were the same woman.

Setting her shoulders back, Rose took a deep breath and walked towards the counter. There wasn’t a line, but she wasn’t that surprised. It was Christmas Day, after all.

“Hello!” he said and her stomach twisted. She wasn’t nervous, that she knew for certain. It was more than that. It was excitement. “Two Grande Iced Salted Caramel Mocha?” His hand was reaching for the cups, but stopped when she spoke.

“No, er. No. No, I would like to have one Grande Eggnog Latte.”

He smiled. Was it ridiculous that she missed that smile after only one day apart? And before that, she was only with him for less than a day. How could she possibly miss his smile already? “Oh! Great! Rose, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Taking a deep breath, Rose asked, “This is so unlike me, but will you go with me?” She knew his response. Knew that he was going to say yes, because that's how their relationship started. Those eleven words were going to completely change her future, and she couldn't wait to get it started. 

But first he had to say yes. 

John looked at her, stunned. The cup that he was writing her name on dropped to the floor. Well, John told her in the future that he was surprised she asked him out.

“What? Me?” He asked, pointing lightly at himself.

“Yes, you,” Rose said with a laugh. “Do you want to go out with me?”

“I—er—I mean—I—”

Donna stepped up next to him and jabbed him in the ribs. That seemed to wake him up since he said, “Yeah. Yeah, I would love to. Er, when?”

“Are you free now?”

“Now?” Rose almost laughed at the expression on his face. She knew that John couldn’t believe it when she asked him out, but the John in front of her seemed like he thought he was on Candid Camera or something. “Er, yeah. I’m totally free now.” Taking off his apron, he said to Donna though never taking his eyes off of Rose, “Donna, I’m taking my break now.”

“Yeah. Kind of figured that.” Rose noticed just briefly that Donna was smiling to herself.

He stood in front of her and it was lovely having him this close to her again.

“So, Rose—um, I don’t actually know your last name.”

“Oh, right. I’m Rose. Rose Tyler.” She held out her hand.

He shook her hand. “John Noble.” When he dropped it, he asked, “So Rose Tyler”—he looked so pleased to say her name, and Rose smiled softly to herself knowing that he would never get sick of saying it, and she would never get sick of hearing it—“Where do you want to go?”

She shrugged. “Anywhere.”

“Well, how about we take a walk in the snow?”

Rose looked out the window and sure enough it was snowing. She smiled, remembering the camera roll on his phone. She knew this was only the beginning.

“Sounds perfect.”

John took her hand and Rose knew that he was never going to let go. Nor would she let him. 


End file.
